Passion of George Sarton

George Sarton animated the discipline of history of science (HoS) in America. This vol. traces his youth & educ. in Belgium, & his marriage to Mabel Elwes. It follows the Sarton’s in their path from idealistic refugees fleeing the invasion of Belgium in 1914 to destitute intellectuals at Harvard Univ. For 50 years, HoS as an acad. specialty owed much to Sarton’s visions & anxieties, esp. as they were expressed in his marriage. Mabel Sarton sustained his enterprise & contributed to its form, which included parts of socialism, pacifism, aesthetics, & faith. Themes present in Sarton’s early work include the common endeavor of artists & scientists, the private nature of scientific innovation, & the HoS as a bridge between the humanities & the natural sciences. Illus.